Trembling Tears
by LoserLikeSkeeter
Summary: How far will Emma go to save Graham?
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: So, let me just preface this by saying, unless there are some flashbacks involving the huntsman, this is the last we will be seeing of Jamie Dornan, which is quite devastating, considering his attractiveness, but oh well. So anyway, this is a story for the ideal alternate universe where things take a turn for the weird. For anybody who has read my stories before, you know that I like to take the information you already have and just throw a wrench in it, and freak people out, so here it goes. I hope I haven't thoroughly confused anyone yet.**_

**Emma's Point of View**

** What the hell was I doing? This was wrong on **_**so **_**many levels. The dead body of the man who had first arrested me, then stalked me, then hired me, then slept with the mayor, **_**then **_**kissed **_**me, **_**now resided in the trunk of my car. What was I doing? That was the only thing I could think as I pushed my Bug to the limit down the main street. After all, who was going to stop me? The only person who had the authority was in my trunk.**

** I had given up on reasonable thinking. Before even leaving the station, I considered a spontaneous aneurism, a stroke, heart attack even, but after examined Graham's still body, I couldn't find any of the telltale signs of anything reasonable.**

**This had all started as a game of sorts, trying to appease Henry's need to believe in the unbelievable. So, why was it that I now found myself scaling the side of the Madame Mayor's house, in an attempt to find a window leading to Henry's room. It took me a fare few minutes, but I finally succeeded and quickly knocked on the window, trying desperately to wipe the tears away before Henry could see them. I could see him turn the corner from his bed, book in hand like always. He opened the window swiftly, extending a hand to help me over the threshold as if it were the most common thing in the world. **

** "Henry," my voice began cracking. Damn it, why was this happening? I kissed the guy one time and suddenly I'm a sobbing mess about his death? That just isn't how it's supposed to work. I took a deep breath and tried to compose my thoughts, "Henry, I need to see your book."**

** My own alert must've been obvious, because he went off after that, firing questions like there was no tomorrow, "What happened?" was the only thing I managed to catch though. Somehow, it always was. **

** I snatched the book away from him, and began thumbing through the pages with shaky hands. There had to be something in that damn book. I skimmed through the entire thing, not able to catch anything. I went through it again, making sure not to miss a single word on any single page. Then I caved to the fact that there wasn't going to be anything in that book to help. I slammed it shut and threw it to the ground, jumping to my feet, and frantically running my hands through my matted hair, a nervous tick of mine. But what Henry said next shocked me more than anything else I had witnessed that day, "He remembered, didn't he?"**

** "Yeah, Kid. He did." I finally admitted.**

** "You know, there's a way to save him." Henry guffawed, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. **

** I instantly felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I could breathe again; the tears started flowing again, but not of the shock; of relief, "It isn't in the book, though." I realize, "I thought everything was in the book."**

** "I knew my mom was going to take the book, so I took out these pages. I knew he was going to die. Everything had been right so far." Henry shrugged, crawling under his bed, pulling up one of the floor boards and revealing three spare pages, "Okay, so we know the whole kissing thing isn't going to work. Because of, the whole, love thing."**

** "Yeah, got that." I answered, nodding off the obvious jab. Of course I didn't **_**love **_**Graham; a little shocked that he literally dropped dead in my arms, but I had known the guy for all of two weeks. And it isn't exactly a secret that we were off to a pretty suckish start, "Okay, so what do we do?" I asked again.**

** "Well, according to this, we have to find the wolf, and cut out his red eye. Inside that red eye is the ruby ring. It contains what you could think of as basically a miniature version of Graham's heart." Henry concluded proudly, adding the last few pages back into his book with tape, "You have to get him to swallow it, and once you do, the only way to kill him, will be the old-fashioned way."**

** "So what you're saying, is that I have to cut out an imaginary wolf's eye, and somehow get a dead guy to…eat it?" the whole thing sounded very out there was no way this was happening, "Wait, but how did Graham get the ring in the first place?"**

** "The huntsman, that's who he was, and when The Queen took his heart, he made a deal with Rumpelstiltskin."**

** "And what did- what did The Huntsman promise Rumpelstiltskin?" I asked, playing along.**

** Again, Henry gave me the, 'Isn't it obvious' look, "He promised that he would be allowed to use The Huntsman's talents in whatever way he wanted, as long as he got to live," he answered.**

** I nodded, clasping my face in my hands, trying desperately to wrap my head around what was happening, "Okay, okay." I took a second to compose myself again. I couldn't do it in time, though, as I heard the front door slam. Madame Mayor was home, and the first stop she was going to make was going to be Henry's room to make sure nothing had happened while she was gone, "Where do I start looking for the wolf?" I asked, my body already half way out the window, on my way back to my car.**

** "Go to the toll bridge and call for it. Use his name!" he called down, slamming the window behind me.**

** This was going to be one hell of a night.**

_**Don't forget to review. I love reading what my viewers have to say! Love You All! xMags**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**So, when I woke up this morning and looked to see that I have gotten more reviews than on all my other stories combined, with just one chapter of this, I knew I had to give you all another one! I thank all of my readers sincerely, and look forward to hearing what you think of this chapter. Also, if you like this, check out my Vampire Diaries story called Don't Mention. Don't Mention is rated T [for now] and ships Delena like there is no tomorrow! So, without further ado, I give you…check 2!**_

** I did what the kid said. I found myself in my car once again, looking for an alley to disguise while I went out to look for this…magic ring…thing. Once I had found a safe place to discard my bug, I unlatched the trunk and swung Graham's body over my shoulders. I stumbled a bit under the weight, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. After all, he couldn't have been 150 pounds soaking wet. It wasn't that big of a load to begin with. Within a minute, I had myself up and running to the Toll Bridge.**

**Branches lashed at my face, leaving thin gashes, and I tripped over what seemed to be ever single shrubbery in Storybrooke. Nevertheless, once at the bridge, I collapsed, dropping his body on the stone of the bridge, completely exhausted. I suddenly realized, Henry had been vague. I had not the slightest clue what I was supposed to do once I was here, "Uhh… here Dog." I called, and of course nothing happened. I was beginning to feel foolish. I had to try again though. I had to literally exhaust every option before I gave in to the fact that Graham was actually dead, "The Huntsman sent me." I said, trying to hang on to the absolutely miniscule shards of pride and sanity that I actually had left.**

**Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a shaking in a bush, and turned fully to face it. There, in the clearing, stood the wolf, looking proud, but also appearing to know exactly why he was called here, "The Huntsman," I said again, with more vigor, realizing that those were the key words, "He's right here." I told the animal, as if he could understand a word I was saying. The animal inched closer. It actually bowed in front of me, once it was within inches of my ankles, then he lay down, staring up at me expectantly.**

**What was I supposed to do now? I had never been a fan of the whole- dismemberment thing. I hesitantly searched Graham for some kind of knife, realizing that in my mad dash to get here, I hadn't brought the most vital tool. I located the switchblade that he kept in his back pocket and held it up examining the thing, then looking back to the wolf, who lay in front of me, panting contently, "It's okay, boy." I whispered, falling beside the animal, stroking the rugged coat behind his ears a couple of times, before taking a deep breath, composing myself; preparing myself for what I was about to do.**

**I couldn't believe this. I slowly held up the knife. I had to hold back the intense need to vomit. I was really about to feed an eye ball to a dead man?**

"**I'm sorry." I whispered, pulling the knife back again. I slowly began to carve out the wolf's eye, and to my dismay, it didn't flinch. The animal didn't even seem to look to be in pain. I noticed his eye didn't seem to take the typical consistency. It felt to be as hard as a diamond. He didn't bleed. It was so strange.**

**Once it was out, he jumped up, unscathed and licked my cheek, which actually made me smile, "Thank you." I breathe, turning away from the wolf and back to Graham. To my surprise, the animal didn't leave. He lie down in front of Graham, as if waiting to see what happened next. I held my breath and closed my eyes, lifting Graham's head into my lap.**

**Bracing myself for what was to come, I squared my shoulders and cranked his jaw, dropping the ring inside. For a moment, nothing happened, and I felt slightly dejected. The weight was back, crushing my shoulders and my chest. I felt tears well up in my eyes, and an uncharacteristically meek sound escaped from my mouth.**

**I probably sat there for another two hours, a dead body in my lap. He was pale and cold now, but I couldn't help, but continue to run a hand through his hair, and watch as the wolf paced just out of my reach. This was something I didn't get to do when he was alive. It felt human. I hadn't felt like an actual human being in a while; a person who has normal worries. This just seemed like the closest thing to normal I could get. I wasn't sure why I was so hysterical though. Was it the fact that I was literally holding him while he died? Or was it something more? Deciding to take the rational way out for once, I chose to believe it was the former.**

**An hour later, I was about to give up, call it a night, and dump the body in the creek. I couldn't get another thought in on the subject, though, and there was coughing and spluttering. I watched as Graham's eyes flew open as if he had seen some kind of a ghost, "What the hell was that?" he shrieked, voice cracking, jumping octaves, clearly disoriented.**

**I couldn't keep the stupid smile off my face. I could see him coming to, as his eyes met with mine. He sat up, conscious of the slightly emasculating position he had woken up in. I couldn't even find a word to express anything I was feeling. It wasn't just the overwhelming relief, though. It was the happiness, the confusion, the fact that this was a part of some fairy tale book that a ten year old kept in his room. Everything came flooding in at the same time, but I knew I couldn't show it. That was no way to greet a person who had just come back from the dead. I settled on a hug.**

"**I remember everything."**

_**So, folks, there you have it! Don't forget to review! I love the fact that within ten hours of publishing the first chapter, I had twenty reviews. Let's try for the same outcome this chapter! Reviews fuel me to keep on going! Also, if there is anything you would like to see that you haven't seen yet, please let me know, because I love having input from the people who are reading, because I love making my audience HAPPY! Anyway, let me know what you think! Love y'all! xMags**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: So imagine my shock when I publish a new chapter and leave my house for three hours to go to drum core rehearsal, come back and see THIRTY NEW REVIEWS! I almost dropped dead I was so ridiculously happy. As a result of my utter excitement, I am going to publish one more chapter before I go to bed! Thank you to all of my reviewers, especially those who offered some constructive criticism and plot bunnies!**_

_**I also have a bit of an odd question…I was wondering if anybody would be willing to attempt to make a YouTube Trailer for this story. If you would be interested, PM me, and we can try to work something out…**_

_**Now, on with the show!**_

** "Mary Margaret!" I called, ramming through the front door of her small home, helping to stabilize Graham as he tried to walk. He was still a bit out of it, but his color had come back and he was able to string together a coherent sentence at this point. Mary Margaret came leisurely walking in, but her color drained when she the scene before her began to sink in, "Get him some water. And some painkillers."**

** "What the hell happened?" she asked, rushing to the sink.**

** "Okay, I'm going to tell you, but you have to try to believe I'm not crazy." I laughed. That just made me sound even more crazy then I was about to lead into. Mary Margaret gave me a nod, as I dumped Graham on the couch, and stood, running my hands through my hair for the umpteenth time. I had done it so much it was starting to get greasy, "He was killed." I answered. She turned around, eyes huge, "And I brought him back to life by…carving out an animal and…feeding it to him…" **

** Mary Margaret automatically popped up from where she was bent, trying to dig around in the cabinets looking for some Aspirin, "You what?"**

** I threw my hands up defensively, "It worked, didn't it?" I asked.**

** I drew in a breath to say something, and then looked back over to Graham, who was out cold on the couch. I stopped me cold. He looked perfectly innocent, like nothing in the world could bother him. When I looked back over to Mary Margaret, she was giving me and appraising look, and motioned for me to follow her into the next room over, so that we wouldn't have to keep our voices down.**

** "So, how long have you two been a thing?" she was sporting a devilish smile.**

** "Wha- me and- NO!" I squealed. However much I may have wanted it to be true, the bottom line was that it wasn't going to happen anytime soon. The only reason Graham had kissed me in the first place was because he wanted to feel something. Now that he had a real heart, he could feel whatever he wanted , for anyone he wanted.**

** "Emma, you're lying to me. Tell me what happened!" Mary Margaret squealed in excitement. Apparently she didn't get the whole 'I just brought a guy back to life.' Scenario. She wanted the real scoop. The girly talk. I had never really been good at that, "Who kissed who first?" Oh, dear God. What; were we thirteen again?**

** "Well, it was kind of…I'm really not-" I struggled to form a coherent thought, "Kind of both of us. At different times." Wow. That was possibly the most ridiculous thing to ever come out of my mouth.**

** There was a tiny glint in her eye that I really hadn't seen there before, "What**_**ever**_** you say." She chuckled.**

** "I saved him because of Henry." I said, catching her attention once more, "There were pages in Henry's book that told me how to do it. And after the whole thing, while we were driving here… Graham told me everything that he remembered. He said he tried to kill you. And then something about Mr. Gold, but I really didn't catch it. The part that I did manage to make the least bit of sense out of…was the part about Madame Mayor. Apparently she is the evil queen, and she would stop at nothing to make everyone's life a living hell. Does any of this sound familiar?" I ask.**

** "We need to get that book don't we?" she asked.**

** "I'd say that Operation Cobra is now back on its feet."**

** There was a moment of silence and then Mary Margaret just chuckled, back to her normal self in an instant, "I'm just going to give this to Graham." She said, motioning to the Aspirin in her hand. She swung through the door of the kitchen and stopped in her tracks, forcing me to nearly run into her back. There in the middle of living room stood both Mr. Gold and Graham. Graham looked positively pissed and Mr. Gold had an impish little grin. The best comparison would be to that of a cheeky child.**

** "Good evening, Ladies." Mr. Gold turned to both Mary Margaret and me and gave an odd sort of bow, before shuffling back to the door, "I hope you don't mind. I heard through the grapevine that the Sheriff wasn't well, and decided to pay a visit."**

** "To my home?" Mary Margaret asked in confusion.**

** Mr. Gold cocked his head, showing off his hideous teeth as he grinned, "News travels fast, Dear. Now, I must be off." He said, allowing a hand to flutter in the air in a sad attempt at hand language. He just looked ever-more demented. He turned to Graham and with an eerie tone, said, "I will be seeing you Sheriff." Then with a curt nod, he was out the door.**

** Anger quickly washed away from Graham's features, as he peered over to the two of us with a look of devastation, "I know who he is."**

** "Of course you do Graham." Mary Margaret chuckled, "He's been in Storybrooke longer than we've been alive."**

** "No, no! I mean I know who he **_**is!**_**" with the blank expression he received from both me and Mary Margaret, he threw his hands up in the air, as if aggravated that he had to practically draw us a picture, "In Henry's book!" he nearly screamed, leaving all three of us in a daze.**

** "Then…who?"**

** "Rumpelstiltskin."**

** "Are you sure?" I asked, rushing to his side, as he began to wobble on his heels a bit, "How do you know?"**

** He gave me a look a utter desperation, "He's ordered me to do something horrible."**

_**Yeah, so that's my idea of a cliffhanger! Lol Let me know what you think of this chapter. More will probably come tomorrow or the next day…or both…depending on how many reviews I get! I'll make a deal with you all…if you all give me 30 new reviews by 4:00 tomorrow, I will write two new chapters tomorrow instead of just one. And when I say chapters I mean LONG chapters. Anyway, in the heat of all of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, and finals time, I've found that writing this story is my escape. Let me know what you think please. I look forward to writing you all two gigantic chapters tomorrow! As always, let me know how I can improve and let me know what you want to see more of! Thanks for all of your reviews on chapters 1&2! Love Y'all! xMags**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: Here is your first uber long chapter! But here's the thing. I didn't quite reach the review quota I was hoping for…so here's the deal. If you all manage to come up with twenty-five comments for this chapter, I'll make another uber long one, but if not, you'll get the normal 1,000 words next chapter. Sounds fair enough, yes? Go tell your friends! Add this to your community! Whatever you think will get it more reviews!**_

_**Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed so far! You're comments make me smile! :)**_

** "What is it?" I ask, subconsciously reaching for his forearm, "What did he tell you?" I knew his fury had to do with what Mr. Gold had told him. If this was going to go the way that Henry's book had said it would, then Mr. Gold would be just about ready to cash in.**

** "He said that if I wanted to free myself from the curse fully, and from my obligation to him, I am going to have to kill Regina and- " he cut himself off then, nothing but a choking sound making its way from his throat. He obviously had more to say. Graham had a tear in his eye as he recollected on the account.**

** "What is it, Graham?" I asked, acutely aware that whatever he was going to say next I wasn't going to like.**

** "He said I have to kill Henry." Three breaths hitched, and I suddenly remembered in the peripheral of my mind that Mary Margaret was still in the room with us.**

** "There's no way. There has to be something else." Mary Margaret gasped, throwing her hands into the air, "We can get him out of town, can't we? We can put him in hiding. Emma, you have an apartment out of town! We can hide him there."**

** "No, he gave me explicit directions. I have to get my freedom back." Graham said, running his hands furiously over his exhausted features.**

** My eyes grew wide, as I pulled my hand away from him, "You're not honestly considering this." I was pleading. I knew I didn't have any control under Graham, and I knew I wasn't supposed to care about Henry, but I did.**

** "No, of course not." He answered, and I breathed a sigh of relief, "But Regina…"**

** "Graham, just think this over for a minute," Mary Margaret interjected, "No matter what Mr. that fairy tale or your **_**memories **_**or Mr. Gold told you, you are a human being, and if you kill Regina, no matter how terrible she's been to you, you're going to regret it. It's just human nature."**

** His eyes suddenly turned dark, "She killed me, Mary Margaret. I don't give a damn if the woman lives another day."**

** "You'll be leaving Henry without a mother." She continued. That stung. I knew she didn't mean what she had said, but that didn't mean it didn't sting a bit.**

** "Regina is **_**not **_**Henry's mother." He said darkly.**

** Why did that make me so happy? All he was doing was trying to serve his case, but still, I had to feel like he was inadvertently defending me. I hadn't had somebody actually stand up for me in years. It was a foreign feeling, but a pleasant one, "I think we need to see Henry."**

** The short walk down the town square lead directly to the Mayor's mansion. I managed to locate the window which I had crawled through earlier that night and out of nowhere, I suddenly realized that the sun was beginning to rise. This would be nearly 48 hours that we would all be going without sleep and it was clearly taking its toll on all of us, "Stay here." I commanded of both Graham and Mary Margaret. I carefully grabbed a hold of one of the slightly bulging bricks, and began to climb as if it were a rock wall, all the way up to Henry's third story bedroom.**

** I was rocking along pretty well, until I got about 2/3 of the way up, then one stupidly misplaced step caused me to begin to slip down the side of the house, destroying the palms of my hands and my elbows and in the process. I braced myself for the harsh landing, but never felt my body actually connect with the ground. Instead, I was rather shocked to find myself, after coming out of my minor daze, I found that I was being…held. It wasn't exactly strange though. Graham let out a chuckle as he set me on the ground and allowed me to steady myself.**

** "That was fun." I heard him say. Somewhere within the mix up, I had managed to make eye contact with Mary Margaret, who had a very clearly been concealing the glint in her eye through our little exchange. Again, more concerned with the whole, 'Let's get Graham and Emma together' thing than the task at hand, "Now if you're done playing Spiderman," Graham continued, a cocky smile crossing his face, "I think I'll use the front door."**

** That was something I hadn't realized before. Regina's car wasn't in the drive. Of course she wasn't home. She was probably out trying to plot some other ways to ruin my life. Mary Margaret and I followed after him, scaling the stairs silently, until we reached Henry's door, "Would you care to do the honors?" Graham motioned for me to knock, and I did so, not giving it a second thought.**

** Within seconds of my first knock, the door flew open and Henry stood in the doorway, book in hand. I instantly felt pity for the child. there were rings under his eyes to rival those of Saturn, and he was standing stiff, as if trying to keep himself from falling over. He had been waiting for us, "Henry, are you ready for the first official Operation Cobra meeting?" he didn't say a word. He just cleared out of the doorway, allowing the three of us to pass and enter his small room.**

** "So, what's new?" Henry asked conversationally, after we had all found a seat somewhere; Graham at the writing desk, Mary Margaret on the windowsill, and I next to Henry on his bed, skimming through the book for the umpteenth time.**

** Graham looked over to me, as if for confirmation that he was allowed to start talking and I simply gave him a nod, "I think I know who Rumpelstiltskin is, Henry."**

** Henry perked up at the sound of this. He didn't seem dead to the world anymore. You could tell he didn't want to miss a word out of Graham's mouth, "Who?" he asked excitedly. His eyes were as huge as orbs, which would've been comical if we had been meeting under different circumstances.**

** Graham drew in a breath, before looking down at his feet as if they were the most fascinating thing in the world, and continuing, "I think Mr. Gold is Rumpelstilskin. He came to me today after….what happened…" good edit for the sake of the kid, "He's ready to cash in."**

** "And since you're the Huntsman," Henry began. He knew where this was leading. He was smart with context clues, "Who does he want you to kill?" his tone fell. It wasn't dead anymore, but now it was full of worry. Henry shot me a worried glance. Oh god, he thought Graham was told to kill **_**me**_**? I couldn't help but think, if that was his biggest concern in life; the livelihood of a person who had been a stranger a month ago, he had it pretty good here.**

** "He wants me to kill your…Madame Mayor." Graham realized the terms 'mom' and 'mother' were becoming a bit much, for which I was thankful. If I had to hear that woman get credit for everything the Henry was again, both he and Regina were going to be cruising for a back hand.**

** Not a single emotion crossed Henry's face, "You know why?" he asked of Graham, who simply shook his head, confusion crossing his features, "He wants you to kill her so that she won't be able to control the story anymore. If you kill her, Sheriff, this book," he held up the tattered fairy tale book, "Everything in this book is going to be completely destroyed. People in Storybrooke won't have a future. This reality we're living in now, is surrounded by the curse that she put on Storybrooke, and if somebody breaks that curse, this book isn't going to hold any weight anymore. After she is dead, it's basically a crapshoot as to what will happen next."**

** "What are you saying?" Mary Margaret asked, alert crossing her face.**

** "I'm saying that Mr. Gold hoodwinked you! If you do it, the curse will be broken, then Storybrooke will cease to exist."**

_**A/N: And cue the dramatic music! Lol…okay, so the new chapter will be up tomorrow. This one took a little while longer, because it's a good 800 words longer than my average chapter. Anyway, twenty reviews, and there will be an uber chapter up tomorrow! Love y'all! xMags**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: So in class I've been required to do some sort of a science project of my choosing and I've chosen to see if the music I listen to have an influence on how I write. I've been listening to Jessie's Girl by Rick Springfield, The Theme from Greatest American Hero by Joey Scarbury, Chasing Cars in the styling of The Cast of Grey's Anatomy, She Will Be Loved by Maroon 5, Anything Goes in the styling of Lindsey Pearce, and Anything You Can Do from Annie Get Your Gun on loop while writing this chapter. Tell me if this chapter seems to resemble these songs at all of not. I think this could be kind of fun. Here we go; let's see if this works!**_

_**I also guess this will be just as good a time as any to mention that English isn't my first language. Yeah, I learned it a couple years back and was told I'm really good at speaking and writing it. I figured that that would just be something beneficial to mention, considering that some of my phrasing may be off… That isn't an excuse, though. I'm going to work on fixing some of my grammar the first chance I get. **_

** "And how do you reckon that?" Graham asked, nearly chuckling at the absurdity of it all. Although, I found it to most likely be true. After all, everything so far had been accurate to some extent. I sat forward and finally began fully listening. I had inadvertently sent the last **

** "Look, it's common sense." Henry drawled, "The curse is the thing that is keeping everyone in Storybrooke. If you kill her, the curse is lifted, and Storybrooke won't be cursed anymore, so nobody will be stuck here anymore. If everyone scatters, then there's no way to send you back to the Enchanted Forest, because everybody has to be in one place to be sent back."**

** "What if we don't want to go back?" Mary Margaret suddenly piped up, "I mean, I don't know about these two," she lifted her arm to motion to me and Graham, "but I don't really want to go back to a time when I am supposedly going to have a screaming baby and a huntsman determined to send a dagger through my heart. I think we could find happy endings here. If we tried."**

** That got me thinking again. I didn't even consider the fact that if we were transported back, everything would be back to normal. I would be days old again, and wouldn't have a worry in the world and as appealing as that sounded at times, that also meant that I wasn't going to be able to see Graham again, which was something I didn't think I was willing to sacrifice just yet. I jolted up, trying to make my momentary zone-out a little less noticeable, but it made me look even more foolish when I made eye contact with Graham for less than a second, before tearing my eyes away and staring out the window as if the tree in the Mayor's back yard were the most interesting thing in the world.**

** Henry just shook his head, letting loose with a face palm, "Don't you get it? There are no happy endings here! The only way for any of us to get a happy ending is to go back to the Enchanted Forest and stop the curse from where it started." That was when I realized what I had been missing. Henry had always spoken about destroying the curse, but he had never given any specifics as to where or how it was supposed to happen.**

** I knew what he had meant when he said it. If we went back to Storybrooke, he would cease to exist. There would be a happily ever after for everyone. Mary Margaret would have her Prince Charming, and I would get to grow up again, maybe having a happy childhood like the one I had been deprived of so long the first time around. Graham would get his wolf friend back and they would spend the rest of their marry days roaming the forests. But Henry, he would be nothing but a memory. Not even that, though, because I wouldn't even remember anything of his existence. I felt a twinge in my heart at this realization. That was when I knew, we couldn't leave Storybrooke. I couldn't leave my child, no matter what the consequence. It may have happened to me, but I was not going to let that happen to him. It may have taken me ten years to figure, but by God, things were going to change.**

**The meeting abruptly came to an end when the front door opened and slammed and there were footsteps on the staircase, "Go, go **_**go!**_**" I whisper, as Graham, Mary Margaret, and I all simultaneously charge for the window. We made our way out in a relatively clean fashion, the final hand flying over the threshold just as Regina slammed through the door, her eyes ablaze. She had found out. She knew about Graham. She knew that he was alive. And chances are, she knew I had something to do with it. Things couldn't possibly get any better.**

** Once we were home, or what I had learned to called home over the last couple weeks, all three of us collapsed haphazardly wherever there was a clear space. I collapsed on the couch nearest the door, directly beside Graham, giving my aching legs some much needed relief. Even though the last couple hours had been spent kept up in Henry's room, that didn't take away from the fact that we had all been going constantly for nearly 50 hours straight, and we were all just ready to sleep, "Now, if you'll excuse me," Mary Margaret began, missing the rack completely and letting her coat fall to the floor, "I am going to go to my room and…die." She groaned groggily, waddling like a zombie all the way to the separate room, slamming the door behind her.**

** I was more than a tad bit aware that she had left Graham and me alone, "Soooooo…" I started, awkwardly staring around the room, tapping the tips of my fingernails together. I took a moment to collect my thoughts before finally summoning the courage to begin again, "What was that you pulled at the meeting?" I asked, "You were all for the idea of restoring the kingdom and then all of a sudden, you just seemed to be completely against it. Why?"**

** I could tell I threw him for a loop. He thought carefully before answering, "I don't necessarily want to go back to the way things were, because if we did, I would definitely be deemed a pedophile when I did this." He whispered, leaning over in my direction. I almost wasn't able to function or process this. Out of everything that had happened in the past forty-eight hours, this was the one that stuck with me. I was never going to forget his lips against mine.**

** In that one kiss, I was home. It took me a decent amount of time to realize that my lungs were screaming for air, and when we broke apart, try as I might, I couldn't stop a tiny smile from twitching at the sides of my mouth. With barely any pause, Graham pulled me into a tight hug, which wasn't something I had expected. If I hadn't been paying super-close attention to the barely-there space between us, I wouldn't have even heard the whisper that passed his lips then, "Thank you."**

** It was only then, did I recognize out of the corner of my eye the slight opening Mary Margaret had left in the doorway to her bedroom. It was just big enough for a person to peek through. No doubt I would be getting an earful about all of this tomorrow.**

_**A/N: So, I worked super hard on this chapter and now I'm dead tired because it is one in the morning and I stayed up really late to finish this chapter for you all! Anyway, let me know what you think! I love hearing your comments on how my story is evolving! As always, I really hope you like this new chapter and I love you all! xMags**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: So I am back after nearly a day and a half. I apologize for my lateness, but my drum core and vocal prep schedules had been absolutely mad! Either way, here is the sixth installment to this story, in which I hope to break even and make it up to two thousand words, but I'm not so sure that is going to happen, seeing as it is two in the morning and I still have to write my English Essay, study for my Bio AP and Spanish AP finals and on top of everything else, I'm planning on dolling out another chapter of my The Vampire Diaries story, as well as my Pan Am one. Whew, I'm am just booked this morning. Anyway, I hope my scattered train of thought doesn't deter anyone from reading this chapter! As always, review, review, review! **_

** "So, how was he?" Mary Margaret asked, excitement in her tone, as we both charged down the hall of the elementary school. It was Mary Margaret's lunch break, so I had come by to pick her up for the second official Operation Cobra meeting. Of course the first thing she had asked would be about Graham. **

** She had seemed to have gotten in her head that our leaving her apartment had implied that we had gone back to **_**his **_**place to do…things. When in all actuality, we had really gone to see Ruby. She was always the one to go to for under-the-table liquor sales. Plus we all know from experience that she was quite good at keeping secrets. So, we had sat out by the dumpsters and had gotten completely wasted. Of course, I wasn't about to let **_**Sister **_**Mary Margaret know that.**

** "We didn't **_**do **_**anything." I whispered, as a flock of screaming children ran past, on their way to the cafeteria, or recess no doubt, "We just…talked…"**

** "**_**Sure **_**you did." She chuckled, as she stepped into the passenger side of my car, "Well," she began, her impish little grin back in place, "When you're ready to talk for real, I am more than prepared to listen." With one final giggle, she faced forward, and we were off once more, on the way back to Mary Margaret's small abode.**

** "Okay, so first thing is first," I started, clasping my hands, collapsing on the end of the couch, far enough away from Graham that Mary Margaret wouldn't feel obligated to interrogate him as well, but close enough to where when he stretched his arm out on the head of the couch behind me, his arm just barely brushed my back, making me shiver, "The mayor still thinks you're dead." I told Graham, not even turning entirely turning in his direction. He knew I was talking to him, and out of the corner of my eye, I could see his hand clench into a tight fist, "Let's keep it that way."**

** A thought popped into my head then. Sitting with the closeness between the two of us, I suddenly realized that I wasn't so opposed to the things that Mary Margaret had been implying. I realized I would've actually been okay with it if we had just skipped out on the cheap liquor, and had just gone back to his place. That would've made it real though. Thus far, this was my part of the fairy tale. This was where I got to have some time in content blissfulness. That would have sealed the deal, though. It wasn't exactly a secret that I was notorious for one night stands. That wasn't what I wanted this to be though. I just wanted this thing that Graham and I had going to be my shameless little endeavor into the unknown.**

** "What do you think she's going to say when she doesn't hear anything about a funeral? Eventually she's going to figure it out, Emma." Graham asked, craning his neck to give me one of his most cocky of grins. This one was a bit out of place, though.**

** "Look, soon enough, she's going to figure out you're alive, and when she does, she's going to manage to squeeze your whereabouts out of Mr. Gold. She's going to try to come after you the old fashioned way."**

** "It isn't like I'm a vampire, Emma. Keep in mind I am- was- the Sheriff of this town. I know how to work a gun. She'll sooner be killed then kill me." His grin was gone. He had a determined glint in his eye.**

** Mary Margaret brought us back to the present with a slight cough, which seemed uncharacteristically Henry-esque. That seemed like it was typically his job from the get go. I had had to walk past Henry in the school that day without mentioning a word about Operation Cobra. This was less of an Operation Cobra deal anyway and more of a 'saving Graham's hide' meeting.**

** "Any ideas, Mary Margaret?" I ask, figuring she wouldn't have interrupted unless she'd had something dead important to say.**

** "There are some caves down by the town's entry. If push comes to shove, and Madame Mayor ends of finding out about Graham, I could take him to the caves, and we could hide out there for a couple days. Just until we can get some real progress done on the whole end of Storybrooke thing." She added, falling into silence. Some small talk and banter followed by a longer, more monotonous and awkward silence.**

** "Caves you say?" Graham finally asks, "As in caves that used to be mined? As in- the seven dwarves?" Really? The first thing he thinks of is those creepy little midgets? **

** Of course, I guess it makes sense, though. He wanted to get out of Storybrooke as fast as humanly possibly, because the longer he stood here, the lesser chance he had of making it back into the Kingdom in one piece. So really, the only chance he had was with Henry's book. And he was going to honor that. And if that meant look for little mining midgets; and if that meant that he had to hide out from the rest of the human population, by God it was going to happen. **

** I couldn't exactly put my finger on why, though. He had been the Sheriff for as long as Storybrooke had existed. And I knew as well as anyone, anyone who joined the police force was trained to put everyone before themselves. Graham seemed to be making an adjustment to that rule. I knew wholeheartedly that when it came to me, Henry, and most likely Mary Margaret, he would travel hell and high water to make sure we were safe, but everybody else fell by the wayside. I had to think it was because of the near loss of his life that this change had occurred.**

** That was when I knew, through that one comment; he wasn't going to kill Regina. He was going to make her life a living hell.**

_**A/N: So here is the sixth chapter. Not my best writing. I tried to dig further in to Emma's Bounty Hunter and Bails Bonds person background. I think over-analogy is one of their strong suits, so I figured my best bet was very little dialogue and a whole lot of thinking. Like? Dislike? Let me know.**_

_**Songs I listened to while writing this chapter: We're Not Gonna Take It by Twisted Sister, Come By the Hills in the styling of Damian McGinty, Back to December by Taylor Swift, Candles by Hey Monday. Has my song choice been affecting my writing style? Leave a comment and let me know. This is an experiment I'm doing to my Bio AP class. **_

_**I am still loving all my reviewers! xMags**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: So it has definitely been a while too long since I updated this story, but I am back none the less. I just had to take a couple days to finish out with the last of my final exams. Don't forget to comment as always! The songs that inspired this chapter were: The Coolest Girl from A Very Potter Sequel, Harry Freakin' Potter from A Very Potter Sequel, I Wanna Be a Starship Ranger from Starship, and Reflection from Mulan.**_

"**So, what exactly is your plan here?" I ask, running down a back road right on Graham's heels. He had literally taken off at a dead sprint half way through our 'saving Graham's hide' meeting. I knew exactly where he was going. And there was no way to stop him, but to wait him out. **

**The cold air beat against my face. My head and arms throbbed. Every muscle in my body was screaming for me to stop. I had been at a dead sprint ever since I had taken that flying leap from Mary Margaret's window, in a desperate attempt to keep up with Graham. Why I didn't just take my car was beyond me, but it was more than a mile away at this point; no turning back now, "Surely you know what you're going to do!" I yelled, and as if on cue, it began to snow, and the snow burned my cheeks and my knuckles.**

"**I am going to make her rue the day she was born!" Graham practically screamed in my face, eyes ablaze, coming to an abrupt stop in front of the mayor's house. I could only imagine what that meant for her. If a trained huntsman, who also happened to be a policeman wanted you dead, you were just about as good as a stuck pig, "She killed me, Emma! Twice! Now, she's going to pay."**

"**Is this really the way you want to do it?" I asked, reaching out to caress his forearm and attempt to take him out of his blind fit of rage, "We can find another way. You don't have to hurt her."**

"**Damn it, Emma!" he screamed, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me furiously. He was honestly scaring me at this moment, and not much actually managed to scare me, "Don't you **_**get it? **_**If I don't do this, she is going to kill you and me both and maybe even Mary Margaret and Henry, too. Because this is **_**her **_**happy ending! Watching us try so hard, when we all know, if you take a step back and look at the facts, we all know how this is going to end. We are going to be stuck here forever in Storybrooke, Maine. I know with confidence that I'm not making it out of here, so the least I can do is make sure she won't either. You and Henry deserve a chance. I am giving you that chance. Won't you just take it?" He gave me a pat on the shoulder as I stood there, stunned. He silently walked up the stone path and in through the front door. Regina wasn't home. God knows where she was nowadays. Now that she had outlasted her use for Graham, she probably found some other guy to latch on to. And we all knew Henry never left his room anymore. Graham was as good as on his own in that house.**

**I could only imagine what the anger was about to fuel him to do. Images flashed across my eyes of Graham stabbing Regina to death…with a butter knife. With his level of skill, I was confident that he would've been able to tear her to shreds with a letter opener, should he have been furious enough. He had more than enough knowledge at his expense, being put into his position of power by none other than the wicked witch herself. I felt compelled to go to the window and see what he was doing. There, I saw him furiously shoving anything that seemed to be of value into a garbage bag.**

**After only a moment, Graham disappeared up the stairs. The only rooms up there were Regina's personal chamber, and Henry's room. I knew exactly what he was headed for. With only a moment's hesitation, I pushed through the front door and followed him up the steps, pushing past the door to Regina's room to see him rifling through drawers and clearing tabletop by tabletop into the trash bag. **

"**She isn't going to hurt me," I finally managed to squeak out, pressing a hand to his shoulder, trying to sound reassuring, "What's your plan, anyway?" I asked, finally gathering up more courage, "Are you just going to run around town playing Robin Hood until we figure something out? Tell me you have a better plan than that!"**

"**Well, you know what," he whispered, whirling in my direction, a look of complete and utter desperation on his face, "This is my norm. This is what I'm good at, so this is my plan."**

"**What? Stealing makeup products and wall clocks?" It almost seemed comical to me how hard he was trying.**

"**This is thousands of dollars worth of junk right here." He answered, motioning to his bag, "One thing I did always find odd about Regina; she's a pack rat. Half of this stuff is age old and solid gold. So, I'm going to pawn this stuff off and give the money to the animal shelter."**

"**Graham, do you honestly think Mr. Gold won't be suspicious when you come in to his pawn shop with thousands of dollars worth of Regina's stuff in a plastic garbage bag?"**

"**Of course he will," Graham let out a chuckle as he went back to filling his bag, "And I know that he is going to go tell Regina, which is exactly what I want him to do. He's playing double's advocate here, so that he comes out on top no matter what. I want Regina to know that I'm still out here and I'm still just two steps ahead of her."**

"**I just don't want you to be too hasty. I just know how this is going to end. And you are probably going to die. You know what, I've seen this before with one of my foster dads." The memories came flooding back and I couldn't help the sensation of the white-hot iron in the back of my throat, "It starts with petty theft. Then the thrill kicks in and the extra cash is nice, so you start to become more daring with it.**

"**Before you know it, everything you used to care about is gone and you're just a shell of the person you used to be." I felt tears prick the corners of my eyes, as I took a deep breath and pursed my lips to control myself.**

**It was to no avail, as my shoulders began to convulse. He dropped the black garbage bag by his side, features lightening as he pulled me into another one of his Class A hugs. I couldn't even imagine why my emotions went so berserk. The thoughts of my former foster dad (the one I had actually liked) overdosing on Dilaudid was something I tried to keep as far out of my mind as possible for obvious reasons.**

**When I pulled away from Graham's hug, I managed to make some sort of eye contact that was not full of fury for the first time that night. I couldn't even manage to form a coherent sentence before his kiss. Before I even knew what I was doing, I kissed him back. It took me a good minute or so before I realized that we had shifted. All the way over to the bed. That's when I had to swallow my pride and push him away, "Wait, wait, wait." I whispered, sounding more like I was trying to convince myself than I was trying to convince him.**

**There was utter disappointment and humiliation in his eyes, his body still hovered over mine though. And I couldn't blame him. I didn't exactly want him to move either, "You don't want-"**

"**No, no, no." I cut him off, "Listen to me, I do. I really, **_**really **_**do. Just, not like this. Not with my child in the next room over. Not in this room. I mean, you were with Regina in here God knows how many times. I know it's weird, I just-" why couldn't I just form a damn sentence?**

"**Well, then," a devilish grin spread across his face, "Would you come back to my place?"**

**I sucked in one more breath, pushing myself up on my elbows and then off the bed for good, "Uh huh." I answered hastily, practically running out the door, with him on my heels this time. I knew this wasn't going to end well, but I didn't give a damn this time around.**

**A/N: So there you have it! The first mildly relationship-esque thing in any story I have ever written in the history of the world! What do you think? Yes? No? Maybe so? Leave a comment and let me know you opinion on my latest chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: For the past week I've been living off a diet of Pepsi and Cheezits. Don't judge. I've only been eating like a single, twenty-year-old man because I've been up in my room studying for finals. Let me give you all the low-down on this; Spanish-A, Advanced PE- A, Bio AP- A, Concert Band- A, World History- A, English- A, Algebra-F. Fuck. My. Life. So, naturally, I am incredibly pissed off, but I hope it doesn't show through in my writing, but if it does, I hope it isn't in a bad way. Anyway, on to the one thing I seem to be good at! **_

_**Where the hell am I? **_**was the first though that crossed my mind. The last thing I remembered from the day before was rifling through the Mayor's house like a hood, along with Graham. I pushed myself up on my elbows and looked around the dark lodge-type room. It wasn't exactly dingy. It was just…dark. Everything was wood. Up above me, I happened to notice the abnormally large bear's head mounted on the wall.**

"**Oh my God." I had done what I had sworn to myself that I never would have. I was never a person who gave up on what I had set my mind to. I had to admit; this was a first for me. Graham was nothing to me, practically a stranger. I had known him for all of two weeks; one and a half of which were spent in and around the police station. Granted, most of the men I had ever been with I had only known for a day if not less. This was different. For some damn reason, I **_**cared **_**about Graham's opinion of me. Somehow, I thought he was going to think less of me, "Oh my God, oh my God." I continued to whisper the phrase to myself as I silently slid out from the thin cover I found myself under. I quickly sprinted around the room, collecting anything that seemed to even remotely resemble anything of mine before taking off silently through the door.**

"**I knew you'd try to sneak out." That familiar voice stopped me only feet away from the front door. He was oddly chipper, as if nothing had happened. Of course, it was obvious **_**something **_**had happened, as I was having issues walking straight line, "Don't worry. I'm not going to try to stop you." He added, lifting a paper mug in my direction, "I thought you could use some coffee for the walk home." I took it gratefully. I was doing everything I could to keep from walking out the door, although the silence was becoming increasingly awkward. And we could both feel it, "So, I'll see you at the station, then?"**

"**Of…course?" It came out more questionable than anything else, "Why would you question it? I work there, too."**

"**Of course you do." He nodded, a smug sort of look on his face. **

**After that I hurried out the door and onto the street, only to come to the realization that it had gotten increasingly colder since yesterday night. As I looked up to the sky, I felt the snow pelting against my face. As I stood out in the middle of the road on the pavement just outside Graham's home, I became consciously aware that I couldn't remember anything. Maybe his chipper attitude that morning had come from the fact that he didn't remember anything either, and he was just assuming like I was.**

**Something was going on and I had the overwhelming sense that it had something to do with Regina.**

"**Where have you been?" Mary Margaret reprimanded as I ran through her door, a frantic attempt to get out of the cold.**

"**I was- with Graham." I muttered the last part under my breath, knowing that she was going to try to squeeze all of the details out of me. The thing was that, I didn't know if there were any details to give.**

**Mary Margaret's eyes went huge with excitement. I tried desperately to avoid eye contact, as I made myself look busy, taking twice as long as normal to hang up my purse and kick off my shoes, "So, are you just going to tell me, or am I really going to have to ask?" she pleaded.**

**I threw my hands into the air, pursing my lips. I swallowed my pride as I answered back, "I think I slept with him."**

**Mary Margaret's eyebrows knitted together, as a questioning frown crossed her features, "You **_**think? **_**The last time I checked, Emma, it's a fairly concrete matter."**

"**No, I know." I almost chuckled. Mary Margaret seemed genuinely befuddled by what I had just implied, "I mean, I know what we did. I **_**did **_**sleep with him. I just don't **_**remember **_**it. The last thing I remember was-" I realized I probably shouldn't mention what the last thing I remembered was. I figured it would be a little bit much to let her know about our little crime spree the night prior.**

"**What the hell am I going to do, Mary Margaret? I have to go to work, and be around him all day and pretend like nothing happened."**

"**Then do just that!" Mary Margaret demanded, "You can't just avoid him because of something that may or may not have happened. Be smiley and happy and then after the work day, you are going to tell him that I am demanding that you two go out on a real date." My own eyes finally shot up to meet hers, as she just let out a laugh, "Regardless of what's happened between you two thus far, you make some kind of a push forward, because honestly; the tension is starting to tick me off."**

"**Wait, what?" I couldn't believe what she was insinuating.**

"**Look, you just need to admit that you are attracted to him! You are hiding behind that wall of yours! Sooner or later he is going to realize that you are pushing him away, whether you're doing it consciously or unconsciously, and he is going to give up." She quickly reached for her own purse, which was on the wrack by the door and pulled it open, pulling out a thick wad of cash, particularly uncharacteristic for a school teach, "Here's 200 dollars." She handed me a thick wad of twenties, which I refused to take, "Come on. Take the money. Do **_**something.**_** I don't care if you go to dinner, or if you go skydiving, or if you- freaking- go to the shooting range. Just do something to let him know that you are at least interested. Take the money, Emma!" she waved it under my nose as if it were the most tempting thing in the world, and to be honest it was. I hadn't had a pay check under my belt in months, and it had been even longer since I had seen a pile of cash that big in person, so without giving another thought, I took the money and nodded, placing it securely in my front pocket, "Now go- change and get something to eat. You're going to be late for work."**

**I quickly left the room and went to her bedroom, where I had stowed my clothes away in a drawer beforehand. I suddenly realized that-should I have actually been the daughter of Snow White, that would've meant that Mary Margaret was my mother, and even though that was an odd feat to imagine, considering that she was actually a few years younger than me, I would've been fine with her being my mother.**

_**A/N: That's it, then! I hope to have another chapter out by later today. Now the sun is actually starting to come up again and I have yet to get any sleep, so I am going to just finish this up now with a goodbye and a plea for somebody to go check out my new poll on my profile page! Don't forget to review and comment generously! Hope my entirely too pissed off mood didn't interfere with my writing too bad! xMags**_


	9. ChristmasSpecialThing

_**A/N: So, in any good series, there is always that one Christmas Special that has nothing to do with the present plot, but just makes people all fuzzy and happy inside. Well, would you really expect any less at this point? Without further ado; Chapter Pointless-Christmas-Thing.**_

**Through everything that had been happening the past few days, I had barely even realized until I happened to look on the calendar that it was Christmas Eve. And of course it had to be at 6 o'clock in the evening that this revelation had to occur to me. I had to act fast. I couldn't even imagine what the people in this town did on Christmas. God knows everything else had been proved valid, so was there in fact…a Santa Claus? That would be something for me to contemplate later. **

**I took off quickly from the station during my lunch break and did a quick run to the pawn shop, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, even as Mr. Gold gave me an incredibly appraising look, "Is there anything I can help you with, Ms. Swan?" he asked, his voice more velvety than usual. He knew he was about to make an incredibly pricey sale, and it showed on his face. It was fairly obvious that he didn't get much business. The place was probably being kept going by the Mayor, just so that Mr. Gold would have a reason to inject himself into other peoples' business.**

"**Just looking for something for my roommates." I didn't know why I felt the need to call Mary Margaret and Graham my roommates. I had been addressing them as such to everyone lately, which was kind of odd. Considering I had never paid a bill a day I had stayed with Mary Margaret, I would more likely be considered an obnoxious squatter, more than a responsible roommate. Then again, responsible never really had been my forte. **

"**Well, for the teacher, might I suggest one of these?" Mr. Gold began, leading my by the shoulder to a case of antique looking necklaces. No doubt he would try to sell one for ten times more than it was worth.**

"**How about that one." I pointed, not a necklace, but a bracelet off to its side. It was a plain black chain with blood-red chips etched in. It looked like a contrast to what Mary Margaret tended to wear, and I figured, in a time like this, change is something that we could all stand a little of, "Wrap it up, please." I commanded, continuing to search for something suitable for Graham. I suddenly came across a small selection of pocket watches. There was a small gold watch with a thin gold chain. On the cover of the watch, was encrusted a wolf. It was just so fitting, no matter how much it would cost I had to buy it, "And this." I demanded pointing to the watch, then I took off in yet another direction.**

**That was when I saw it. Up on the top shelf in the very back of the dingy store, there lay a collection of books. There were four of them, all wrapped up with a very thing whicker sting. Looking at the spines, I read the names, **_**Huckleberry Finn, Adventure Island, The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland, **_**and **_**Cinderella. **_**Under no other circumstances would I have found myself untying the whicker and slipping out the one book that may have been of any use to any of us. I quickly pulled out **_**Cinderella, **_**as Mr. Gold rang up my other purchases and placed it in my purse. There was something we were missing, and I had a good feeling it had something to do with this book.**

**I looked to the front of the building, careful to make sure that he wasn't aware of what I was doing. I made sure there weren't any security gadgets near the door, so that I could get out of the Pawn Shop without a hitch.**

**I did find it odd that my subconscious was pushing me to take **_**this **_**book. I mean, Graham, Mary Margaret, David, even Henry and I were part of Snow White's story. So what would possess me to **_**take Cinderella?**_** I had a really good feeling about this, though.**

"**Here you are Ms. Swan. That'll be fifty-eight sixty." Mr. Gold crooned, handing over my purchases.**

"**You sure priced low for those." I shot back, a slight bit suspicious as I pulled out my wallet and began rifling through for any money I may had had left over from my 'date' with Graham the other night [which had admittedly become more awkward than anything, seeing as neither one of us had never been particularly good at starting conversation. We usually had Henry or Mary Margaret there to do that for us.] I managed to come up with the money, and quickly slammed it down on the countertop, waiting for his rebuttal as to why he would sell me a solid gold pocket watch and a fancy-looking necklace for only fifty bucks.**

"**Well, Ms. Swan, in the spirit of the season, I've chosen to give you a break." I nodded. Even though I knew it wasn't true, I figured it would be only response I would get out of the greasy, old gizzard, so I turned on my heels to leave quickly, and just as I was walking out the door, I heard his gravelly voice behind me whisper, "I'll also choose to forgive you for the book you've stolen." Busted.**

**##############################################################################################**

"**Okay, seriously, Graham; it is Christmas Eve. Can't we take a break from the overwhelming force of doom, and just chill for a day or so?" I ask, interrupting his rant about his latest endeavor into our fictional world.**

"**I suppose you're right." He answers, flopping down on the couch beside me, as a smirk grew on Mary Margaret's face. He managed to catch it as well, and quickly scooted to the other end of the couch, "Well, if we aren't going to finish our plot," he began, the obvious joking in his tone, "then what exactly do you have planned, Ms. Swan?"**

"**Well, for starters, you two can open these," I answer, pulling the two wrapped boxes out of my purse. I handed each to the respective owners and watched as they tore the paper away like excited little children, each both surprised and please, as they admired their gift.**

"**Now I feel bad I didn't get **_**you **_**anything, Emma. Thanks a lot." Mary Margaret berated as she fastened the clasp around her wrist.**

"**No need, now we need to go to the Mayor's house. I have something I need to give to Henry, and I think it'd be best if you two came along with me." I continued pulling the leftover gift out of my bag.**

"**What'd you get Henry?" Mary Margaret asked in a way that seemed excited and worried. It wasn't like things went so well the last time we all tried to crowd into Henry's room and nearly got caught.**

"**A clue." I answered, as I tucked the larger package back into my purse.**

**We were all three left in silence for several minutes until Mary Margaret pushed herself onto her feet from her perch on the loveseat, "I have some eggnog in the fridge. I'll go get it." It was obvious she was doing it just to get out of the awkwardness of this whole third-wheel thing. **

**Once she was gone, though, things didn't get any better between me and Graham. I could tell he was glancing at me out of the corner of his eyes, as I was doing to same thing, making it a never-ending cycle of half-glances, when I finally swallowed my pride and turned to him, "What happened last night?" I asked. It seemed like a silly question, and I could automatically feel blood rushing to my face, turning my features as red as a tomato.**

**He turned toward me, shaking his head and pursing his lips, "What do you think happened?" he asked, addressing the inevitable, "Because I can tell you what I think, but I can guarantee you aren't going to like it."**

"**I think we got really drunk and we slept together and that's why neither one of us remember."**

"**I wasn't drunk. I would remember if it was just intoxication. You have no idea how ridiculous my tolerance is," of course, even as we were talking about something so serious, he had to give an opportunity to toot his own horn, "It was something else. I think something happened when you replaced my heart."**

"**Well, I can guarantee you something like this is not going to be in Henry's book. We're going to have to figure this out on our own."**

"**And how to do you suggest we do that?"**

"**We have to get Gold on our side."**

**Everything fell silent again after that. Good Lord, Mary Margaret was taking forever with that eggnog, "Thank you," he whispered again, through the silence, grabbing my attention. I knew he meant it and he meant it for more than just the watch. Suddenly I became aware of the closeness between us. Simultaneously, it seemed, we both leaned in. I was less than a breath away from his lips, when Mary Margaret came rushing out of the kitchen, a tray of eggnog in hand, "Damn it, Mary Margaret." He muttered under his breath, pulling away, in order to keep the polite company charade going.**

"**Was I interrupting something?" she asked, suddenly ultra-aware of everything that was going on, "Do I need to go back into the kitchen?" she asked, high tailing it back.**

**That act almost made me chuckle and I held up my hand, motioning her over to sit on my other side that wasn't already occupied by Graham, "No, no; you didn't interrupt anything." I laughed, placing a hand on her knee to reassure her.**

"**Alright, do you want to get going?" Mary Margaret asked, gathering her purse and coat.**

"**I don't know about you, but before going to face the Ice Queen, I plan on getting quite a bit tipsy." I answered, taking a glass and downing it in one.**

"**Maybe I should get the Tequila." Mary Margaret said again, stepping into the kitchen once more.**

**She hadn't been out of the room ten seconds, when Graham and I were right back where we had left off. I had to admit, however embarrassing it was; I **_**enjoyed **_**kissing Graham. Before, whenever I had actually gone into a relationship with anyone [if that was what this was in the first place…] kissing just seemed like something that came with the territory, but this was actually **_**fun. **_**It was new.**

**When Mary Margaret reentered the room I couldn't help, but actually laugh out loud, as Graham called to her, "You're interrupting. Go back to the kitchen."**

_**A/N: And there you have it! Your completely plot-irrelevant, cute, little Christmas-Special-Thing. I hope you liked it. Heck, even if you didn't just know that there is another chapter that will actually be plot-relevant tomorrow! And the next day! I thank you in advance for the reviews I hope to be receiving. This story is so much fun to write. I hope you all have as much fun reading it as I have coming up with it. Anyway, please, please, PLEASE review, and don't forget to answer the Poll on my profile, pertaining to this story. Also, if there is something else you would like to see in this story, feel free to Private Message me, so that I can add your ideas to my Poll! Thanks for hanging in there for the couple of days I haven't updated. I apologize, but I've been entertaining guests, and let me be the first to say, it is incredibly difficult to write anything when you have seventy plus people cramming in to your house for all day and all night for three days in a row. It was absolute freaking misery. Anyway, thanks for reading! xMags**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**A/N: Well, that definitely took longer than was expected. Nevertheless, I am back with another chapter. And I must admit, the issue now stands at this: Now that the show is back on, my story is no longer feasible. I am going to continue writing, though, simply because it is FUN! Might I just add, I really like how they added in Rumplestiltskin's back story to the last episode? It was amazing! I wasn't too jazzed about tonight's episode, though…**_

** "Okay, so what's the plan?" I asked, pacing in front of the counter, as Mary Margaret tossed platefuls of waffles in three different settings on the table.**

** "We're going to knock him out and bring him back here." Graham began, digging into his waffles, and completely ditching any plans that we had been forming to get Gold onto our side. It had been determined days before that no matter whose 'team' he was playing for, he would switch to back whoever was winning. We just had to make sure that that was us and he was as good as ours.**

** "Do you really think that's our best option? I mean really; if we want him on our side, we can't force him. It's obvious that people are afraid of Gold and that having him on our side would be the ultimate power, but honestly think about it! We'd be hard pressed to find anybody who would be willing to listen if we were to do this!" Mary Margaret continued, a worried expression on her features. **

** We had determined that no matter how we got to the end result, we were going to have to tell somebody about the other world that we had supposedly left behind. Henry had given us options as to who we could tell first. This was one of the most important tasks we were going to have to pull off; finding somebody to tell who would A) believe us and B) not tell anyone. As a group, Mary Margaret, Graham, Henry, and I determined that the best person to tell would be Ruby. But before we told Ruby, we had to have Gold, which was the one thing we didn't have at this point.**

** Gold was our leverage. People believed in whatever he backed, because he harbored so much power. Our entire plan was riding on the plan to get him in on Operation Cobra and keeping him there, without making any deals that we would later be regretting.**

** We dropped the topic for a short while and exchanged it for polite conversation as we ate. Since Graham's resurrection, he had practically taken up permanent residence on Mary Margaret's couch, and as such, Mary Margaret questioned me nearly every day. She would corner me and ask if we had done the deed yet. Every. Single. Day. And every day the answer was the same. It was always no. Really since Christmas we hadn't talked about much else besides Operation Cobra and the weather.**

"**So, not to point out the elephant in the room," Mary Margaret began, slamming her fork back down on the table, "but are you two going to just pretend the other doesn't exist for the rest of eternity, or are we actually going to see some kind of a push forward, because I kind of have money on you two, and it's… a lot." She gave an expression that made her look like the child who got caught with their hand in the cookie jar.**

"**You **_**what?**_**" I guffawed, "Who else is in on it?"**

"**There is…sort of an…ongoing pot down at…Granny's." I threw a glance toward Graham who was trying his harder to keep the laughter out of his eyes. Once I turned back to Mary Margaret, it was quite obvious that she was wishing the earth would just open and swallow her whole, "Mary Margaret, you are possibly the worst **_**Sister **_**ever."**

"**Oh shut up!" she squealed again, coming out of the woodwork once more as her chipper, upbeat self, "Okay, but seriously; is there going to be anything, like, ever? Because again, it is…a lot of money…"**

"_**Maybe,**_**" Graham finally interjected to silence her. Even though I knew it was true, just hearing the words made me sputter a bit, "you know; once the whole…impending doom thing blows over."**

**After a good laugh, things settled down again and we went about the daily morning routine- brushing, combing, flossing, and dressing. As we were all walking out the door to go to our respective work places, I stopped Graham, "I guess you'll be needing this," I whispered, reaching his Sheriff's badge out to him. **

"**You know, **_**technically,**_**" his voice was oozing with over dramatization, as he leaned against the doorframe, "I **_**have **_**been off the radar for over two weeks, so that does mean that **_**you **_**are Sheriff."**

"**But then what are you supposed to do? We agreed that today was the day. The people know you're still alive; nobody even knows I took the Sheriff's position. It's yours."**

"**But the law **_**does **_**state," he continued, a small smirk spreading across his face, "that you **_**do **_**have the authority to appoint a new Deputy."**

"**So you're telling me that you are honestly offering to demote yourself so that I can keep the Sheriff's position?"**

"**It's a **_**whole **_**new tax bracket." He joked. **

**I couldn't help but shake my head and look up at him in amazement, "Thank you." I chided back, in awe of the huge thing he had just given up. Graham had been Sheriff of Storybrooke since its creation. Goodness knows, the Mayor would have something to say about this strange switch.**

_**A/N: So, right now, words are kind of escaping me. I know this isn't the best chapter, but I knew I HAD to get one up since I haven't posted since before Christmas! Anyway, let me know what you think! Also, anybody who would be interested in making a YouTube trailer for this, please PM me! I can't do it myself, but I am still hoping to have one made! Love to all of my Reviewers! xMags**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**A/N: I want to thank reviewer Willofthewisp ten times over for commenting on every single post I've ever made in one day. That was a LOT of reading, so thanks, and THANK YOU MUCHLY (yes I know, fake word… )for all the criticisms. Once again, don't forget to comment and if you have any ideas for this you'd like to share, feel free to leave a review or Private Message me. Sorry it's been so long, but I'm back on track now!**_

** "This is just so weird." Graham whispered, gazing from the middle of the Town Square, as if he were some kind of a foreigner. On my inquisitive look, he finally answered, "It's just so quiet. These people are going about their regular lives, as if nothing is happening; all the while, there is this war going on right under their noses."**

** "I think I'd consider it a cold war," I chuckled, as we continued our patrol, "It's only a matter of time though until **_**someone **_**drops a bomb, then the shit hits the fan."**

** "Do you really want to go back?" he finally asked, "It just seems like you've been out of it. I just want to know that I'm putting my life and the lives of many of the townsfolk on the line for a valuable cause."**

** It took me a moment to answer back. I had to form my words carefully, or this was going to come off quite brash, "I just want what's best for my son. And really…going back to a time when he doesn't exist, just isn't fair. He's only ten. He hasn't seen anything outside of this town, or done anything outside of Storybrooke. He deserves to see what life has to offer."**

** "Well, forgive my saying, but it's been my experience that life has a way of making a 180 and biting you in the ass." Graham replied. I could tell he was trying to make a joke of telling me how wrong he thought I was, but he was really starting to clear some things up for me.**

** "And if that is what life has in store for Henry, then he deserves to experience it. He deserves to live a day when he isn't under Regina's microscope. He **_**deserves **_** to know what it feels like to be **_**normal.**_** I can't live being the one who was responsible for taking his life away from him."**

** "Well, I really can't challenge that, can I?" he chuckled, and we walked in a comfortable silence, side by side for a good part of the rest of our patrol, until I heard him heave a heavy breath and start up once more, "I really like you." He finally said, and I whipped my head to face him completely, but we didn't stop walking simply for the fact that we didn't need the entire town to hear our conversation, "I do, I **_**really **_**do, and I want to take you out. On a real date. Not out to the shooting range or for an ongoing patrol talk, but a real date."**

** That had my head spinning. I never thought Graham to be a person who would be so blunt. When I finally looked up to him again, he seemed to be nervous, fearful even, "Okay, what did you have in mind?"**

** "I don't know, I really didn't think that far in advance." He admitted, "I was kind of preparing myself to state my case."**

** "Well, I don't want you to 'state your case', Graham. I want you to tell me what you consider an 'actual date'."**

** He spluttered when he finally managed to find the words he was looking for, "We could go for drinks at the Diner, and then -" he froze, shaking his head.**

** "What is it?" I asked, my voice now oozing with curiousity.**

** "It's nothing. It was a stupid idea."**

** "No, tell me!" I laughed out loud, as I managed to step in front of him and stop him, in the middle of the street.**

** "No, it's silly. You'd think it was ridiculous."**

** "Well, maybe I won't," I threw back, catching his eyes and his hands in the same fluent motion, "You won't know until you try it."**

** "They're showing Gone With the Wind, as a Fundraiser for the Elementary school in the Square. I don't know. I thought it'd be kind of nice…to go…as a –couple?"**

** I giggled-yes, and actual giggle- at how awkwardly he managed to display his words. It was as if he were asking a Senior girl to the Junior prom. I nodded, and the stress was almost automatically released from his features, "I guess we better go tell Mary Margaret to cash in."**

** "I'm going to call her," he laughed, pulling out his phone. We ducked into the nearest alley and he dialed Mary Margaret's number hastily, putting his phone on speaker.**

** "**_**Hello?**_**" Whoa; she sounded pretty ticked that we called, and it took a lot to get Mary Margaret mad, "**_**This better be important, because I was in the middle of… something.**_**"**

** "I just wanted you to know that you can cash in now. Graham and I are a thing now." I answered, using her terminology from a prior conversation.**

** Suddenly another voice came through the receiver in the peripheral, "**_**Who is it?**_**"**

** "Mary Margaret, is that…**_**David **_**I just heard?" Through the silence on the other end, Graham and I seemed to be picking up the context clues at the exact same speed as he furiously attempted to choke down his laughter and I finally realized what we had just caught her in the middle of, "Oh! Oh, well, in this case; I'm sorry I called, and- we'll make sure to be home late."**

** The other end went dead as Graham and I both collapsed against the wall in a fit of laughter, "It was only a matter of time." I managed to cackle in between laughs.**

** Of course, nothing good lasts very long in these parts, it seems, and soon enough, there was a voice to interrupt our hysterics, "Deputy," the voice quickly killed the happiness, as it was that of the ever-present Mr. Gold, "I see you still haven't completed the task I've asked of you."**

** "Not now, Gold."**

** "Well, I suggest you get it done soon. You see, something's coming; a dark force. And once it's here, there's no turning back."**

** "And when do you estimate, this 'dark force' will be here? Because as far as I can tell, the only dark force in this entire town is standing right in front of me, demanding I kill the Mayor. As soon as you have any real information, we'll talk, but for now, can't you just leave me be?"**

** "As you wish. Just be very aware, Sir; I'm not the only person with eyes on the ground in this town. There are more people working against you than for you, and when you get an opportunity, you'd best be taking advantage of it." Finally Gold turned to me and with a nod, and a fluttering of his fingers, he muttered, "Good day, Sheriff Swan."**

** Once he was far enough way that he couldn't hear or see us anymore, Graham and I shared an exasperated glance. I had a feeling that our date tonight was definitely not going to be as careless and pain free as we were hoping.**

_**A/N: So I want to hear from you all! My lovely VIEWERS! Do you like this chapter? Do you like the feel of the story on whole? Do you think we'll be seeing more of the Huntsman on OUAT? I want to hear all of your opinions! Thanks for hanging in there during my hiatus! xMags**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**A/N: Okay, so since my last chapter I threw a whole new wrench into my story with the whole David/Mary Margaret thing, and I know it was a little OOC, but I have a plan for it; trust me! And by the way, I wrote it because I said so. For the person who sent me a very nasty PM (you know who you are) I am allowed to make decisions when it comes to my writing. Some of them you may not agree with, but it's all a part of my creative process, so sorry if you don't like it, but I'm going to keep doing things the way I'm doing, because it seems to be working so far. **_

_**In addition, thanks for all the amazing reviews! **_

** "What do you think we should bring?" I asked, rifling through a cabinet, looking for anything I could to make this 'date' less awkward, "You don't think Gold would try anything while we were in the busiest part of town, do you?"**

** "At this point I think he'd try anything, but you don't need to worry about that right now. The whole point of doing this is so that you can have a night off, where you don't have to worry about saving lives, or breaking curses, or this whole business with Gold. All you need to worry about today, is what you're ordering at the Diner." He was trying his hardest. Graham had managed to pull of all the stereotypes of a 'first date' within the five minutes that we had actually had in downtime between work and … whatever this was. He had taken up a new, clean shaven look and smelled at if he had taken a bath in cologne. Yes, he was everything a pimply teenage boy was on a first date. And to be honest, it was kind of sweet.**

** "So what you're saying is that we should just go now, while I haven't **_**completely **_**ruined the mood and hope for the best?"**

** "That's exactly what I'm saying." He chuckled as he shrugged on his jacket and tossed me mine as well. He tugged an arm around my shoulders as I allowed him to guide me out the door.**

** "So, tell me about yourself. We really haven't spoken much outside of work. Tell me what school was like for you." Graham asked, as we started out at the Bar, "Seeing as I don't remember any of my own childhood, I figured I could do a little mooching off of yours."**

** "Why are you suddenly so interested?" I countered back. When I didn't get an answer, I just shrugged and answered, "I spent a lot of time jumping schools. I was in the foster system, so families basically took me in just as a tax write-off. Anyway, it probably was one of the worst homes I was put into. My foster dad was always trying to provoke me and he'd buy me these provocative night clothes. Anyway, the one escape I had was music," a small smile spread across my face at the memory, "The school I went to at the time, when I was a sophomore, had an amazing music program. There was theater and dance and the **_**marching band **_**was phenomenal. I took up two jobs just so I could make the payment for my uniform and board for band camp. That was probably the best year of my life. There was nothing but music, and it was the first time I had ever had real friends and I had this one friend who snuck me into the prom. After that my life pretty much went to hell, though. Their lives got better. My best friend, Holly, she went to Juilliard. I got a job at a diner and we all sort of went our separate ways."**

** "Well, we mustn't dwell on past misery too much. Tell me about your friends. What were they like?" at my questioning look, he simply shrugged and added, "We need something to talk about while we get drunk. Why not the fun stuff?"**

** Before I answered, I took a moment to consider, eyeing my glass carefully. When I had finally remembered what I had been trying to erase from my memory for so long, I gaze down at my fingers, tapping them against the gritty countertop, "I just remember that all of my best friends were guys. There was Tom and his big brother Ryan. They were the big brothers I never had. Sometimes, when I didn't want to go home, I would stay with them. I really didn't talk to anyone else but those two and Bex. Bex was the only girl who would give me the time of day. We were in juvie together for a while, until she cleaned up her act. We kept in touch. She lives in Peducah, Kentucky now, with Tom and her little baby."**

** "So your two best friends hooked up and strung you out to dry?" Graham asked, his face contorted in confusion, "Maybe it's just me Emma, but it's been my experience that best friends don't do that."**

** "Maybe not, but they were the closest thing to actual family that I had, so I was going to treat them the way I was never able to treat my family. We would fight sometimes, but it would always get better."**

** "And what about the other bloke, Ryan, what's his story?"**

** That struck a chord, and I had to choke back the tears I felt coming on, "He- um- was killed- in a car crash a couple years back. Actually, before I moved here, I was living with him."**

** After a moment of simply staring, Graham waved in Ruby's direction, "Shots, please. I don't care what it is, just bring a lot of them." At my confounded look, he muttered, "Neither one of us are drunk enough for this conversation."**

**About an hour or so and several drinks later, we both stumbled out onto the main road, making our way to the Town Square, "Oh, look it's starting!" Graham screamed, grabbing my hand and taking off toward the square even faster.**

** We collapsed on the grassy ground in a clump, just as the first picture began to roll, "I could never imagine you running so fast just to see a corny classic. "**

** "It isn't the movie that I'm here for, Emma. The longer I'm here, the longer I've got you laying beside me."**

** "Okay, so that was about the corniest thing I've ever heard, Graham." I chuckled, pressing a kiss to his lips. That was one of the few things that I liked about being drunk. You could say and do whatever you wanted, and nobody would judge you for it. With that, I nestled into the crook of his arm, and managed to doze into a light sleep as Gone With the Wind managed to drown all of the thoughts of the day.**

_**A/N: Yup, this is all I've got to say. I figured it was time that I put in some back story for Emma. Ryan, Tom, and Bex are real people from my school, but I didn't go too much into detail, just to preserve their privacy, but other than that, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, even though it is a bit choppy and more filler than anything else, but I guarantee you that there is more where this came from. You'll definitely be seeing more of Emma's high school pals! xMags **_


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: **BET YOU THOUGHT I WAS GONE FOR GOOD, DIDN'T YOU? WELL, YOU THOUGHT WRONG! BECAUSE HERE I AM, TWO YEARS AND THREE AP LITERATURE COURSES LATER, FINISHING UP TREMBLING TEARS FOR REAL THIS TIME. I KNOW MOST OF YOU HAVE PROBABLY LOST INTEREST BY NOW, BUT IF NOT, PLEASE CONTINUE TO LEAVE COMMENTS – I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT! THANKS! XMAGS**

"_Emma,_" a voice called from over top of me as a hand shook my shoulder, "The movie was over an hour ago. Let's get you home. My God, you're drunk." She gasped as I slumped against her.

"As a skunk." I agreed.

"Can you walk?" she asked, trying to straighten out my clothes into a respectable fashion, "You're a mess." She mumbled, dragging me toward my beetle. She must've driven my car. She doesn't have one – never has – and I never really knew why.

One thing struck me more than anything else as Mary Margaret loaded me into the backseat for transport, "Where's Graham?" I grumbled.

"I don't know. He'll probably be back at the apartment sooner or later. Just try to get some sleep." She commanded, putting all of her "good nurse" skills to the test.

As soon as we got back to the apartment, I was put to rest on the couch and handed the TV remote. My buzz was slowly beginning to wear off and the hangover was starting to set in. When the knock on the door sounded, I felt as though my head could explode, "Ow." I grumbled, pulling a pillow over my head as another insistent rap burst from the door.

Mary Margaret threw the door open to reveal a tall dark-haired man, with a very drunken Graham slumped against his shoulder, "Is he yours?" the man grumbled, letting Mary Margaret take hold of his and help him to an armchair, "Drunk off his ass, he is." The man chuckled, "Standing on the counter at Granny's, shouting something about a rebellion."

"Well, thanks for bringing him back before he made too big of a fool of himself." Mary Margaret murmured, "Do you want to come in…"

"Jones. Kye Jones. I own the barber shop across the street." He extended his left hand for a shake.

"Left handed shake? Kind of awkward, don't you think?" I cackled in my stupor.

"Yeah, I do think." He admitted, revealing a prosthetic right hand, "Used to be a butcher, I was. Got myself in some trouble, I did."

"Let me get you a beer for the road." Mary Margaret mumbled, fleeing to the kitchen, "I would invite you in, but the drunken fools are kind of taking over."

"Aren't you Sister Mary Margaret?" he inquired, leaning against the doorframe, "What are you doing with liquor in your house?"

"I got roommates." She grumbled, "Anyway, Kye, thank you for bringing him home. I guess we'll be seeing you around."

As soon as the door clicked behind him, I let out a howl of laughter, "Well, I think we know who he is."

"Let's just hope he doesn't know who he is. We could use him on our side for as long as possible. Emma, we've officially got a job for you. You're going to make friends with Kye Jones."

"You mean Captain Hook."

**A/N: ALRIGHT GUYS, I KNOW THIS ONE WAS A LITTLE BIT SKETCH, BUT JUST BARE WITH ME AS I GET BACK INTO THE SWING OF THINGS. LIKE I SAID, IT HAS SERIOUSLY BEEN TWO YEARS! PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT IF YOU LIKED THIS CHAPTER AND ARE INTERESTED IN MORE TO COME! XMAGS**


	14. Chapter 14

"You're trying to tell me that you two went from being completely and utterly sober to being flat-on-your-ass drunk without so much as a sip of alcohol. Somehow I don't think that's the whole story." Mary Margaret snapped, crossing her arms before the two of us. Graham looked like he'd just gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar. I'd venture to say my expression didn't look much different.

"Well, that may not have entirely been the case," I responded and Mary Margaret sighed disapprovingly, "We had a couple drinks, but we weren't even that drunk. We were a little tipsy. We fell asleep in the square and when I woke up, Graham was gone and you were pulling me to the car."

"And the only thing I remember is being pulled off the countertop at Granny's by that guy." Graham countered, "Everything in between, I was completely blacked out."

"You don't think Gold had anything to do with it." Mary Margaret questioned.

"No, I think Gold has something to do with everything. But don't you find it weird that some dude from across the street tried to play good Samaritan and bring Graham back?"

"Maybe he was just being neighborly, Emma." She countered.

I shook my head, beyond belief that she still had that much hope for the people of this town, "Really, Mary Margaret. Gold has the dirt on every single person in this town. Think about it. He's probably got something on this guy, too. And Kye probably doesn't have the wits about him to challenge Gold. He probably thinks he's all on his own. He will do whatever Gold tells him to until he sees that there are others who have Gold's number."

"You think we can get him on our side?" she asked.

"You said it yourself. He could be useful. He could know something. Even if he doesn't know anything, we still need bodies on our side. We're revving up for a war. Wars required armies."

"All due respect, Ladies," Graham interjected, "but if this is the only plan we've got, I think we need to take a step back and consider the possibility that this guy could be bad news. I mean, he was a pirate. If he remembers that, or if Gold told him about the other realm, there's no telling what he'd do."

"I think we need to reference the book before we make any rash decisions." Mary Margaret agreed, "As much as I want to have this guy on our side, we definitely need to do our research first."

"Research," I grumbled under my breath, realizing how ridiculous a term that was, "Right, whatever. We've got to wait until Regina leaves the house, though. I'm going to go in alone and you all can wait for me in the car."

"No, we shouldn't take the car. Everybody knows your Bug, Emma. We'll walk."

We had just gotten to the main square, when Graham wrapped an arm around my waist and urged me to move quicker, "Don't look behind you, but it looks like our good Samaritan dropped by for another visit." He whispered, "God, we need to know who he is. We need the book."

"How about this? I've got a better idea." I took an unexpected turn, causing Graham to be thrown off his balance. We slowed to a halt I ducked behind the alleyway's dumpster, pulling Mary Margaret and Graham down with me. True to form, Kye followed a few meter behind and I dove out from behind the dumpster, pulling my pistol from its holster, "Do not move."

Of course, I should've expected that he wouldn't have listened. He did a 180 and took off down the street. I chased after him, followed closely by Mary Margaret and Graham. Within moments, I got a hold on his shirt sleeve and yanked him to the ground, pressing my weapon to his temple, "Who the hell are you?" I whispered.

"I know what you want. We want the same thing."

"Oh, I'm not too sure about that. You work for Gold."

"Emma, people are staring." Mary Margaret whispered, yanking at my elbow, "This isn't the way you want to do this."

"I'm making progress. That book isn't going to help us with this." I snapped at her, before turning my attentions back to Kye, "You're going to stand up slowly and walk into the alleyway. Do not make a sound."

Once we'd all four casually made our way out of eyesight, I continued in my interrogation, "I take it you know something. About where we all came from."

"Mr. Gold told me the basics of it all, but he didn't tell me who I was. I figured the hand had something to do with it, though. So I can assume I'm either Captain Hook or the Demon Barber of Fleet Street." He rolled his eyes.

"Very funny. Well, your common sense deduced that you were in fact Captain Hook. We're from your land, too. We're actually pretty important. So we'll cut you a deal. If you can find some way to get us back there – in our current states – if you can find some way to convince Gold – then we will make you head of the Royal Guard. I assume being a pirate has given you some attributes that would be useful in the position."

Mary Margaret's eyes bugged out as she grabbed my shoulder, "Emma, we did not discuss this. You cannot barter with the safety of our kingdom."

"You just watch me," I murmured back, "Listen, Jones. If we return back to the Forest today, we will all be restored to the state in which we left there. Which means that I will be an infant and my son will cease to exist. And that can't happen. You've got to find some way to get Gold to work around that rule."

"And how do you propose I do that?" he inquired. I could feel his conscious relax as I holstered my weapon once again.

"I don't know, Man. You're a pirate. You figure it out."

**A/N: Please leave a comment and let me know what you think! I'm still kind of trying to get back into the swing of things.**


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